fuck meaningful philosophy of life; we wanna be on Made!

I’m a research assistant for a professor who is something of a baby boomer scholar, and last fall he challenged me to come up with a good explanation of how my generation (which is technically Gen Y/Millenials any of the various conflicting ways the powers-that-be have sliced the generational Gen Y/Gen X cut-off points, but not by much) differs from the boomers, his theory being that while Gen X represented a serious generational value difference, Gen Y is pretty much rejecting that and siding with a more boomer-oriented model.

My knee-jerk reaction is to disagree, but I’m still working (solely in my head) on an answer for my professor. In the meantime, it looks like USA Today and Pew Research Center have some evidence:

The views of young people today on politics, social attitudes and life goals are far different from their baby boomer parents’, a national survey of 18- to 25-year-olds suggests.

Among the other interesting product-of-the-times survey findings:

The findings that this generation’s top life goals are to be rich (81%) and famous (51%) contrast with a 1967 study of college freshmen in which 85.8% said it was essential to develop “a meaningful philosophy of life,” while 41.9% thought it essential to be “very well off financially.”

The MTV-reality-TV-show-ization of culture is complete!

I find it sad that 51% said a top life goal was to be famous. It seems, as a generation, a whole lot of people are going to wind up sorely, sorely disappointed with their eventual lots in life …

In the color-me-surpised category: 20 percent have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic.

And in the take-that-Gen-X-you-may-have-had-Kurt-Cobain-and-cool-baby-doll-dresses-but-we’re-more-tolerant category: Among Gen Y respondents, 47 percent are in favor of gay marriage and 46 percent opposed, while 64 percent of those over 25 are opposed.**

**Edit: Although it has been pointed out to me that, according to 2003 survey data, the support/oppose position doesn’t diverge wildly at the Gen X/Gen Y border, and in fact remains relatively parallel until about age 33. And with the 2007 report, I couldn’t determine whether they meant 64 percent of those over 25 within the Gen X grouping, or just of those over 25 in general, which would, obviously, greatly skew the results.